The confluence of a number of technological advances has enabled computer-aided navigation to become ubiquitous. Global positioning technology, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) has enabled the relatively precise determination of the location of any computing device comprising, or communicationally coupled with, a GPS sensor. Additionally, the capacity of computer-readable storage media to store information has increased sufficiently to enable a geographically diverse set of maps to be stored on the computer-readable storage media of a computing device that is sufficiently portable that a user can carry it with them wherever they may desire computer-aided navigation. Consequently, a modern traveler can obtain detailed directions to guide them to their destination from a myriad of computing devices, such as vehicle navigation systems, portable, or personal, dedicated navigation computing devices, or more general purpose, but still portable, computing devices, such as cellular telephones, tablet computing devices and laptop computing devices.
Typically, the computing devices that provide navigation and directions to a user do so on the basis of maps that are either stored locally with the computing device, or are obtained by the computing device through network communications, including wireless and cellular network communications. In the former case, updates to the locally stored maps can be required to ensure that such maps are current and comprise the most accurate information at the time of the update. Such updates can occur through either wired, or wireless network communications. Conversely, in the latter case, the centrally stored maps can be continuously updated, and the computing device providing navigation can always have access to up-to-date information, so long as it can communicate with such a central mapping source.
The map data utilized to provide such navigation and directions is based on satellite imagery and known exterior mapping techniques. As such, the map data comprises information such as streets, addresses, geographic boundaries, lakes, rivers, and other geographic attributes, and other like data. Typically, the map data also comprises photographic imagery such as satellite photographs, real-time traffic cameras, “street-level view” images, and other like photographic imagery. Utilizing the photographic imagery, the map data can further comprise general information, such as size, exterior shape, and location, of venues such as malls, airport terminals, arenas, skyscrapers, or other like venues.
In many cases, the destination of the user is a particular establishment inside a larger venue. Unfortunately, because the map data utilized to provide navigation and directions treats the venue as a singular entity, the navigation and directions provided to a user can be suboptimal. For example, all of the stores within the mall may share the same address, or may otherwise be geocoded to the location of the mall. In such a case, the navigation and directions provided to a user can guide the user to the mall, but cannot identify, for example, which side of the mall the user is to park on. Depending on the size and configuration of the venue, as well as its surrounding accessways, the lack of interior map data for the venue can result in the user being guided along slower, or less efficient routes, and can result in the user being directed to a destination that is a substantial distance, typically covered by foot, from the establishment that the user is intending to visit.